One Day Private Guide Tours History in Phnom Penh Incl. admission

Nowadays Phnom Penh is a vibrant and bustling capital city with around 2,000,000 residents with motorbikes and cars and a culture of sidewalk cafes established in recent years.

The capital of the Kingdom of Cambodia is located at the confluence of three rivers: The Mekong, the Bassac, and the Tonle Sap. Once considered the loveliest city of Indochina, the city still maintains considerable charm. There is plenty to see in this small colonial capital. The many sidewalk cafes, established along the riverfront, invite the visitor for a rest. In addition to such tourist sites as the Royal Palace, the Silver Pagoda, the National Museum, and Wat Phnom, there are several markets selling silk, silver, gems, and antiques. Also worthwhile is a visit to the notorious "Killing Fields" and Tuol Sleng Museum, which chronicle the unfortunate years under the brutal rule of the Khmer Rouge.

Today, meet your personal guide and driver and drive at your hotel lobby. Then we’ll drive to visit the Royal Palace. This graceful structure is very much a focus of the city. Standing on the site of the former citadel, it was built for King Norodom in front of the Mekong. Inside its walls are the Throne Hall, the Chan Chaya Pavilion, the Napoleon III Pavilion, and the King's and Queen's residential quarters.

You’ll also visit the Silver Pagoda is a glistering chamber of royal treasures, also known as the Pagoda of the Emerald Buddha, Inside, its floor is made up of 5,000 silver tiles, each weighing 1kg. Inside are some of the country's most cherished treasures, including a life-size gold Buddha studded with 9584 diamonds, the largest weighing 25 carats. There is also a delicate emerald Buddha made of baccarat crystal, which gives the temple its Khmer name of Wat Preah Keo (Temple of the Emerald Buddha). The walls enclosing the pagoda are covered with ancient frescoes depicting episodes from the Ramayana.

Next, you’ll visit the National Museum, the museum is housed in a terracotta-roofed structure of traditional Cambodian design, which was built in between 1917 and 1920. It offers a charming setting for the world’s finest collection of sculpture from the Angkor period. The intricate sculptures date from both the Angkorian and pre-Angkorian eras, complimented by recent examples of Cambodian art and a wooden Buddha collection. We recommend the incredible sandstone sculpture from Angkor, as well as the intricate bronzes.

Next, continue visit the city's namesake, Wat Phnom. Located on one of the few hills in this pancake-flat capital, the first pagoda was originally built in 1373 to house Buddha statues discovered in the Mekong by a woman named Penh. This gives us the modern name of the city, Phnom Penh or Hill of Penh. Cambodians come to the shrine to pray for luck in love and life, employment and exams, so there it is always a bustling place.

After break lunch, you’ll drive to visit the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek (16 km south of Phnom Penh), you’ll be accompanied by a guide to inform about the history of the center. Between 1975 and 1978 about 17,000 men, women, children and infants (including nine westerners) detained and tortured at S-21 prison were transported to the extermination camp of Choeung Ek. They were often bludgeoned to death to avoid wasting precious bullets. Fragments of human bone and bits of cloth are scattered around the disinterred pits. Over 8,000 skulls, arranged by sex and age, are visible behind the clear glass panels of the Memorial Stupa, which was erected in 1988.

Next, you’ll visit the Tuol Sleng Museum, the guide would divulge in the backstory and history of the museum in depth. In 1975 Tuol Svay Prey High School was taken over by Pol Pot's security forces and turned into a prison known as Security Prison 21 (S-21). It soon became the largest such center of detention and torture in the country. More than 17,000 people held at S-21 were taken to the extermination camp at Choeung Ek to be executed; detainees who died during torture were buried in mass graves in the prison ground. Room after room the museum displays photographs of men, women and children covering the walls from floor to ceiling; virtually all the people pictured were later killed.

We’ll stroll around to visit the Statue of King Father Norodom Sihanouk is a large Bronze Memorial. It is located in the Independent Square in the Centre of Phnom Penh.

The Independence Monument in Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia, was built in 1958 to memorialize Cambodia's independence from France in 1953. It stands on the intersection of Norodom Boulevard and Sihanouk Boulevard in the centre of the city. It is in the form of a lotus-shaped stupa, of the style seen at the Khmer temple at Banteay Srei and other Khmer historical sites. The Independence Monument was designed by the Cambodian architect Vann Molyvann. It stands 37 meters tall. During national celebrations, The Independence Monument is the center of activity. A ceremonial flame on the interior pedestal is often lit by a royal or high official on these occasions, and floral tributes line the stairs. Every year, The Independence Monument is visited by foreign tourists and locals alike. Behind the monument is the Norodom Sihanouk Memorial, constructed in 2013.

Wat Ounalom is another of Phnom Penh's five original monasteries (1422). it housed the Institute Bouddhique and library. On the riverfront about 250 meters north of the Royal Palace, facing the Tonle Sap River near the Royal Palace, this pagoda serves as the headquarters for one of Cambodia‘s most revered Buddhist patriarchs . Ounalom Pagoda, Phnom Penh is one of the major tourist attractions in Phnom Penh. With respect to the numerous pagodas, parks, monuments and museums, the city of Phnom Penh in Cambodia is an idea destination for the vacationers. A visit to the Ounalom Pagoda, Phnom Penh will render a pleasurable experience to your trip to this city.

The impressive Central Market is one a city landmark. Originally completed by the French in 1937, this striking structure is known as Psar Thmei in Khmer or New Market. The huge dome is wonderfully ventilated, a testament to the design, and this market is loaded with anything and everything available in Cambodia. Buy with caution, as this market has a reputation for overcharging or 'shaving your head' as Cambodians like to call it.